Resilient channel member



Jan. A HARR|S RESILIENT CHANNEL MEMBER INVENTOR- DAVID HARRIS flaw/rigAT TORNEYS United States Patent i 3,421,281 RESILIENT CHANNEL MEMBERDavid A. Harris, Castro Valley, Califi, assignor to FibreboardCorporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 4, 1965, Ser. No.492,692 US. Cl. 52735 Int. Cl. E04c 3/02; E04f 19/02 7 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates generally to a memberfor improving wall and ceiling construction, and more particularly to animproved resilient furring channel for use in the construction ofpartition and floor-ceiling structures with improved strength and soundisolation characteristics.

Variously designed resilient channels or hangers have been developed inrecent years for use in partition construction to improve suchconstruction and particularly the sound reduction characteristicsthereof. The various channel designs can be more clearly distinguishedby classifying them into three general configuration herein defined as:a cantilever or leaf, an expanded-metal, and a combination cantileverand slit configuration.

The cantilever channel is unsymmetrical in crosssection and is thussecured to its supporting structure along only One lateral edge thereof,there-by utilizing a cantilever spring principle to achieve the desiredresilience. Likewise, the cantilever and slit channel configuration isunsymmetrical in cross-section and is secured along only one lateraledge thereof, but achieves the desired resilience not only by means ofthe cantilever spring principle, but also from a slitted configurationwhich enhances the channel flexibility. The expanded-metal channelconfiguration is symmetrical in cross-section and is secured along bothlateral edges thereof to its respective supporting structure, andaccordingly utilizes the more flexible, expanded metal portions of itsstructure to achieve the desired resilience.

The present invention provides an improved resilient furring channelwith relatively improved sound reduction characteristics, in the form ofan improved configuration whereby relatively greater ceiling or wallweight, generally in the form of some type of wallboard, may be safelysupported. lMore specifically the resilient channel comprises anelongated metal strip generally hat-shaped in cross section. A centralcrown portion extends linearly along the length of the strip, While aseries of resilient bent leg portions supports the crown above andspaced from lateral edge portions extending the length of the strip.Metal removed from between the resilient leg portions is bent laterallyand outwardly in a plane next to Patented Jan. 14, 1969 and parallelwith the edge portions to form nailing tabs along both sides of theresilient channel.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved configuration for a resilient furring channel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a furring channel ofimproved sound isolation and weight supporting characteristics.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a resilientfurring channel of greater durability and versatility which lends itselfto inexpensive mass production methods since it can be formed of asingle length of material with no remnant waste.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a resilient furringchannel of a configuration which lends itself to simplified installationdue to the fact it does not bow or twist during insertion ofself-tapping screws for supporting the wallboard.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a symmetricalresilient furring channel wherein the desired resilience and strength isprovided with relatively more eflicient use of the construction materialthan in prior art symmetrical channels.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a resilientfurring channel of improved construction wherein removal of portions ofmaterial thereof simultaneously provides the desired channel resilienceas well as a succession of tabs for securing the channel to itssupporting structure.

'It is a further object of the invention to provide an improvedresilient furring channel utilizing punch-out tabs formed of materialthereof which would otherwise be wasted, wherein the tabs extendoutwardly from the body of the channel to provide a large nailing arearemoved from the body to preclude damage thereto by a poorly appliedhammer blow.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an improvedresilient furring channel wherein the required resilience is provided bya succession of simple, partially folded strips, bent to form a dogleghaving an inside angle of generally greater than Other objects andadvantages will be apparent from the following description and claimstaken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a resilient furring channelin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the furring channel of FIG. 1 with alength of wallboard installed.

FIG. 3 is an end view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown an improved configuration for aresilient furring channel 10, formed of a single piece of material, suchas for example, an elongated, fiat strip of coated (galvanized) sheetsteel approximately 0.022 inch thick and about three inches wide.

Referring generally to the cross section, the channel length is formedof a crown portion 12, lateral edge portions 14 and integral,interconnecting resilient leg portions 16 extending therebetween. Thecrown portion 12 comprises that portion of the channel 10 to whichwallboard 13 is secured with suitable fastening means, the lateral edgeportions 14 provide a base for securing the channel 10 at either sidethereof to the face of studs, the bottom surfaces of joists or likestructural wall or partition supports, herein indicated by a numeral 15.The

interconnecting resilient leg portions 16 provide the spring actionbetween the crown and edge portions 12, 14 respectively therebyproviding the desired sound damping effect therebetween. Channelsecuring tabs 18 are formed along the length of the channel atpredetermined, spaced intervals by punching, or otherwise cutting out,three sides of a preferably rectangular portion of material adjacent thelateral edge portions 14. The rectangular portions are folded outwardlyin a 180 arc (prior to forming the channel) to lie flat against thelateral edge portions 14, the lateral width of the tabs 18 being greatenough to allow them to protrude substantially beyond the outer edge ofportions 14. A series of spaced holes 20 are formed along the tabs 18slightly beyond the edge portions 14, to allow insertion of nails 22, orlike fasteners, through the channel tabs to secure same to the studs orjoist supports 15. The holes 20 are spaced to provide convenientlylocated holes for attachment of the channels 10 to the supports at anypoint therealong.

Removal of the rectangular portions to form tabs 18 simultaneouslyprovides, in one forming or punching operation, a succession of openings23 along the channel 10 length with an alternate succession of resilientleg strips 24. After forming the channel as shown in the drawing, theleg strips 24 are bent to define an agle or dogleg to provide the majoramount of spring action or resilience of the channel 10.

The width, W, of the leg strips 24 and thus the resonant frequencythereof, can be predetermined and varied during fabrication of thechannel 10 according to the intended use, thereby allowing a choice inthe desired amount of resilience. The most practical configuration hasbeen found to utilize resilient leg strips 24 of /2 inch width W and atab width M of 1 /2 inches. Such dimensions have been shown to provide acompromise between channel strength and resilience commensurate to anoptimum reduction of sound transmission while maintaining the installedwallboard material with sufiicient rigidity to make it feelaesthetically pleasing to hand-applied pressure.

The crown portion 12 which receives the wallboard fastening means,preferably self-drilling, self-tapping, power driven sheet metal screws26, has slightly raised lips 28 formed along either lateral edge thereofto provide space between the facing side of the wallboard 13 and thecrown 12 surface to provide for optimum ease of screw insertion, viz, toprevent screw bit flash. Additionally, the outer recessed surface of thecrown portion 12 is knurled or otherwise scored, to provide a roughenedsurface 30 which prevents slippage of the self-tapping screws 26 duringinsertion thereof.

It is to be noted that the depth of the channel 10 extendingperpendicularly from the crown portion 12 to a plane passing through thelateral edge portions 14 should be great enough to allow theself-tapping screws 26 to protrude through the crown portion 12 butwithout the tips thereof touching the supports 15 since this wouldprevent the desired resilient action. Thus a plane passing through thesurface 30 of crown portion 12 lies substantially parallel to, butspaced apart from, the plane lying along the lateral edge portions 14.

FIGS. 2 and 3 exemplify one manner of securing the channel 10 to thestud or joist supports 15, and the wallboard 13 to the channel 10. Thechannel 10 is equally useful for ceiling construction, particularly dueto the symmetrical cross section configuration, whereby both edges ofthe channel can be secured to the ceiling joist supports 15 to providegreater strength while still providing the required resilience forimproved sound isolation. The crown 12 is of sufficient width to allowthe channels to be installed parallel to the wallboards, whereinadjacent, abutting edges of the wallboards 13 are secured to thechannels 10 by means of two rows of screws 26 which are driventherethrough into the crown portion 12. Generally however, thewallboards are installed in perpendicular relation across the channels,as shown in the figures.

The unique channel configuration lends itself to ready and inexpensivefabrication by mass production methods. An elongated flat strip ofconstruction material is preferably first punched to simultaneously formthe extending tabs 18 and the resilient leg strips 24, and thereafterthe material is folded and pressed to form the hat-shaped cross sectioncomprising the crown portion 12, the resilient leg portions 16 and thelateral edge portions 14. The resilience of the channels 10 can thusreadily be varied for a particular batch of channels by simplyrelocating the punch apparatus which forms the tabs 18 to regulate thewidth, W, of the remaining leg strips 24 as well as the width, M, of thetabs 18. Additionally, the various dimensions of the resilient legportion 16 and the various angles at which the channel 10 is formed,particularly the dogleg angle of the resilient strips 24, and generallychosen commensurate to the resilience and strength characteristicsdesired for the type of wall or ceiling construction in which thechannels are to be used. Increasing the width W of the leg strips 24increases their rigidity and thus the channel resilience.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to asingle embodiment, it will be apparent that numerous variations andmodifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved resilient furring channel for resiliently securingwallboard to a supporting structure comprising; an elongated strip ofsheet material formed in a generally hat-shaped symmetrical crosssection; including a centrally extending crown portion, lateral edgeportions disposed at either side of the crown portion, and resilient legportions having at least one bend intermediate the ends thereofintegrally formed with and interconnecting said crown portion and saidlateral edge portions, said crown and edge portions disposed alongsubstantially parallel planes spaced a selected distance apart by saidinterconnecting resilient leg portions, said resilient leg portionsincluding a spaced succession of resilient leg strips of the sheetmaterial extending transverse of the length of the sheet material strip,and tab means for securing the channel to the supporting structureformed of material from the resilient leg portion.

2. The resilient furring channel of claim 1 wherein said tab means areformed of material partially removed from between said succession ofresilient leg strips folded outwardly to extend generally along theplane of said lateral edge portions beyond the outermost edges thereof.

3. The resilient furring channel of claim 2 wherein said crown portionfurther comprises a flat fastener-receiving portion having raised edgesformed along either side thereof to space the wallboard from the surfaceof said flat fastener-receiving portion, said surface having a scoredfinish thereon to provide ready insertion therethrough of the wallboardfasteners.

4. The resilient furring channel of claim 2 wherein said resilient legstrips have a width substantially less than the width of said materialpartially removed and folded to form said tab means.

5. The resilient furring channel of claim 4 wherein the width of saidresilient leg strips of the order of /2 inch, and the width of saidpartially removed material is of the order of 1 /2 inches.

6. The resilient furring channel of claim 4 wherein said succession ofresilient leg strips comprise fiat strips of the sheet material formedwith at least one bend, said strips being disposed with the bend angleoriented in outwardly extending relation to the volume bounded by saidhat-shaped channel.

7. The resilient furring channel of claim 4 wherein the materialpartially removed and folded outwardly from the resilient leg portionsforms said tab means for securing the channel to the supportingstructure, the remaining material therebetween simultaneously formingsaid succession of resilient leg strips.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 4/1965 Brown et a1 52488 11/1965 Downing 52-735 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

5 A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

